Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

United Nations: Environment Protection

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposals in the Blue Smoke publication Unveiling Equalities: a briefing examining senior appointments at key UN environment and development bodies, published in November.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is committed to supporting efforts to ensure merit based and inclusive multilateral appointments across all international organisations. Diversity of talent is critical in tackling our shared global challenges. The UK Government is proud to support the objectives of the UN's Senior Women Talent Pipeline, including programme funding totalling £61,292 in 2023/24, and will continue to support the UN with efforts to ensure diverse and merit-based appointments.

Gaza: Ceasefires

Lord Blencathra: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they havemadeofany damagecaused to the relationship between the UK and United States by the UK abstaining on the United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on 8 December.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The US is the UK's most important strategic ally and partner, and we do more together than any other two countries in the world. As the Foreign Secretary has said, we stand united in the Middle East and are working together to ensure long-term security and stability in the region. He visited the US on the 6 December to meet with Secretary of State Blinken and other senior government officials. They discussed getting humanitarian aid into Gaza and how the UK and US can work towards enabling a long-term two-state solution. We are gravely concerned about the desperate situation in Gaza and of course want to see a peaceful resolution to the conflict; ultimately this will mean a lasting ceasefire, agreed and abided to by all sides.

Guyana: Venezuela

Lord Kempsell: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the position of the government of Venezuela regarding Guyana's Essequibo region, the security situation in Guyana, and UK's support for the territorial integrity of Guyana.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is concerned by the recent steps taken by Venezuela with respect to the Essequibo region of Guyana. We believe the unilateral actions of Venezuela are unjustified and should cease. We are clear that the border was settled in 1899 through international arbitration. The UK supports Guyana's territorial integrity. The Foreign Secretary has reassured President Ali of this. We continue to work with regional partners and international bodies to de-escalate tensions.Minister Rutley visited Guyana on 18 December to show UK support for its territorial integrity.

Philippines: Religious Freedom

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the violations against the human right to freedom of religion or belief in the Philippines following the attack on a Catholic mass at Mindanao State University on 3 December.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK condemns the attack at Mindanao State University. We extend our condolences to the families of the victims and support efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice.The UK is a long-standing supporter of the peace process in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindano (BARMM) through our Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) programme work, and we remain committed to securing long lasting peace, security and inclusivity for all of the region's communities.

Belarus: Religious Freedom

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the human rights violations against Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians in Belarus, as detailed in theUnited States Commission on International Religious Freedom’s report Country Update: Belarus, published on 5 December.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We continue to work on holding the Belarus regime accountable for its actions. This includes the work of the International Accountability Platform for Belarus, which the UK, EU and individual EU Member States established in 2021. The UK's foremost priority on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is defending these rights for all and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. The British Embassy in Minsk continues to show its support for these freedoms and engages with religious groups in Belarus.

Azerbaijan: Religious Freedom

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have madeof the human rights violations against Shia Muslims in Azerbaijan, as detailed in the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom’s report Country Update: Azerbaijan, published on 5 December.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government recognises that there are ongoing challenges in Azerbaijan in relation to Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB), particularly for devout Muslims. The Minister for Europe raised human rights with Foreign Minister Bayramov during his visit to Baku on 22 November. On 14 November during Azerbaijan's Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council the UK reiterated our concerns about restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly and called on Azerbaijan to improve human rights protections for all.

Department for Education

Children: Abuse

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance is included, if any, in the Initial Teacher Training content framework on (1) how to speak to children and what constitutes verbal abuse from adults to children, and (2) behaviour management.

Baroness Barran: The Initial Teacher Training Core Content Framework (CCF), alongside the Early Career Framework, sets out the minimum entitlement of training and support for all trainee teachers.The CCF is underpinned by the Teachers’ Standards (2011), and behaviour management is addressed in High Expectations and Managing Behaviour (S1 and S7 of the CCF). This is in line with Standard 7 of the Teachers’ Standards, which requires teachers to “manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment”. Part Two of the Teachers' Standards requires teachers to ensure that they are “treating pupils with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect, and at all times observing proper boundaries appropriate to a teacher’s professional position”.The CCF has been reviewed with consideration of how to best prepare trainee teachers to support pupils by creating respectful cultures within their classrooms where pupils feel motivated and valued, and highlights the importance of building strong, positive relationships with pupils.

Pupils: Absenteeism

Baroness Deech: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that children are not absent from school to take part in protests.

Baroness Barran: The government is clear that missing school for events such as political protests is unacceptable and should not be condoned.The department monitors events closely and has recently written to all schools and local authorities supporting leaders and teachers in taking firm action when necessary. The department encourages schools and local authorities to set clear expectations to parents on attendance and has confirmed that absence for this kind of activity should be treated as unauthorised. The department is clear that school leaders and local authorities should be enforcing attendance policies, and they should take immediate action where these policies have been breached. In the most egregious cases this can mean fines or prosecution. The department has shared this communication with Ofsted to ensure all inspectors are clear on the position.

Cabinet Office

Import Controls

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfeon 23 November (HL183), whether the Common User Charge is being defined as a ‘tariff measure’ and therefore not included in its modelling of the inflationary impact of the Border Target Operating Model.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfeon 23 November (HL183), whether they plan to review the inflationary impact of the Border Target Operating Model once it has been fully in place for 12 months.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfeon 23 November (HL183), whether they have undertaken an assessment of the potential impact of differing user charges at government run Border Control Posts and non-government run Border Control Posts on (1) traffic flows, (2) congestion, and (3) emissions.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Alongside other measures that are likely to have an economic impact on international trade, estimates for relevant user charges and fees - including the Common User Charge - were included in the modelling of the inflationary impact of the Border Target Operating Model. We calculated the inflationary impact over a 3 year period through the academically peer-reviewed food price inflation model as its full effect on consumer food prices will not be immediate. As such, we have no plans for a formal review of measures introduced through implementation of the Border Target Operating Model one year after introduction. We will review the Border Target Operating Model in line with the Magenta Book guidance on evaluation and further announcements will be made to Parliament as and when required. The Magenta Book guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5e96cab9d3bf7f412b2264b1/HMT_Magenta_Book.pdf We have not identified any differential impact on traffic flows, congestion and emissions that might be caused by different levels of user charges.

Department of Health and Social Care

NHS: Drugs

Lord Shinkwin: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with NHS England aboutits desktop review of homecare medicines services, and whether they will publish its terms of reference and timetable.

Lord Markham: NHS England’s desktop exercise to review homecare medicines services is not guided by terms of reference. The next steps are to bring together data from the desktop exercise with the House of Lords inquiry report recommendations to shape a programme of work on homecare medicines. The Public Services Committee will be updated on progress in January and March 2024.

NHS: Drugs

Lord Shinkwin: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have madeof the impact of delays, workforce shortages, and lack of e-prescribing systems, on the health and well-being of patients receiving homecare medicines services.

Lord Markham: NHS England has been carrying out a desktop exercise to review homecare medicines services. The next steps are to bring together data from the internal review with the House of Lords inquiry report recommendations to shape a programme of work on homecare medicines. The Department is carefully considering all the conclusions and recommendations made in the report and will respond in due course.The House of Lords Public Services Committee will be updated in January 2024.

NHS: Drugs

Lord Shinkwin: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that rheumatology teams involved in homecare medicines services are consulted about possible changes to the delivery, monitoring and standards that define homecare medicines services made as part of NHS England’s desktop review.

Lord Markham: Homecare medicines are used by a wide range of clinical services and patients. NHS England has been carrying out an internal review of homecare medicines services to understand the issues affecting these groups in more detail. Representatives from the rheumatology sector have been involved in this work.The next steps are to bring together data from this review with the House of Lords inquiry report recommendations to shape a programme of work on homecare medicines. Engagement with relevant key stakeholders will continue throughout this process.The Department is carefully considering all the conclusions and recommendations made in the report and will respond to the House of Lords Public Services Committee in January 2024.

NHS: Drugs

Lord Shinkwin: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish (1)national-level, and(2) NHS trust-level,key performance indicatorson missed doses and delayed treatment initiation to monitor the performance and safety of homecare medicines services.

Lord Shinkwin: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have assessedthe difference between a missed delivery and a missed dose of medicine in terms of their policy implications as part of the National Homecare Medicines Committee’s review of national homecare medicines services.

Lord Markham: NHS England is committed to improving patient safety and understanding the important role data can play in driving quality improvement.There are currently national key performance metric definitions available as part of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Homecare Services Professionals Standards which include definitions criteria on the number of failed deliveries, missed doses and patient safety incidents. Patients routinely hold approximately two weeks’ worth of supply of medicines to minimise the risk of a missed or delayed delivery becoming a missed dose.NHS England has been carrying out an internal review on homecare medicines services. Extensive stakeholder engagement has been undertaken on revising the national key performance indicators (KPIs) and a transition to new KPIs will begin in spring 2024, with full reporting expected by autumn 2024.

Sciensus: Complaints

Lord Shinkwin: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman correspondence to the Chief Executive of Sciensus on 16 October 2023 askinghimto reviewthe Sciensuscomplaints process.

Lord Markham: The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) reports to Parliament directly and is held to account through the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.As the PHSO's jurisdiction includes independent healthcare providers that deliver services on behalf of the National Health Service in England, it is right that the Ombudsman wrote to the Chief Executive of Sciensus, a company providing home care medicines service to NHS patients, about its complaints process. We understand that Sciensus has agreed to continue to improve their complaints handling process in line with the principles set out in the NHS Complaint Standards.The NHS Complaint Standards were co-created by the PHSO and organisations across the NHS and Government. The Standards, along with the model complaint handling procedure and guidance, set out how organisations providing NHS services should approach complaint handling. They apply to NHS organisations in England and independent healthcare providers who deliver NHS-funded care.

Surgery: Working Hours

Lord Warner: To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of acute hospital trusts in England regularly conduct NHS operations on (1) Saturdays, and (2) Sundays; and whether this information is able to be published so that patients may exercise choice.

Lord Markham: The information requested is shown in the attached table. This is existing Hospital Episode Statistics data that is already published by NHS England.Attachment (xlsx, 36.2KB)

Eastbourne Hospital

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need to refurbish or reconstructEastbourne District General Hospital.

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government what funds they have made available for the reconstruction or refurbishment of Eastbourne General District Hospital.

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government when they anticipate works will commence on the refurbishment or reconstruction of the Eastbourne District General Hospital.

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have undertaken any preparatory work proceeding any planned refurbishment or reconstruction of Eastbourne General District Hospital.

Lord Markham: We are committed to delivering a new hospital at Eastbourne District General Hospital which forms part of the New Hospital Programme (NHP) scheme for East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust; this also includes works at Conquest Hospital and Bexhill Community Hospital. All NHP schemes represent hospitals that require a high need for investment in the estate and have been assessed based on a combination of criteria including the level of Critical Infrastructure Risk and deliverability upon joining the programme. We are working closely with the trust to support the development of their Strategic Outline Case and identify opportunities for early construction work to support main scheme delivery. The New Hospital Programme has provided over £9 million in scheme development funding up to the end of 2022/23, and a further £4.7 million was provided in 2023/24 to support the development of business cases for early enabling works to take place.

Ministry of Defence

EU Defence Policy

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that agreements ondefence and security collaboration between the UK and the EU made under the Permanent Structured Cooperation regime are subject to appropriate and timely scrutiny by Parliament.

The Earl of Minto: The UK's interest in the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) military mobility project was discussed in the House of Commons debate on 19 May 2022, at a Commons Defence Committee evidence session on 2 November 2022. Leo Docherty MP, Minister for Europe, also discussed PESCO military mobility at two Lords European Affairs Committee evidence sessions on 7 March and 12 December 2023. The Commons European Scrutiny Committee has also opened an inquiry into 'PESCO and UK-EU Defence Cooperation' to which HMG submitted written evidence in July 2023.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Housing: Disability

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to raise the regulatory baseline of accessibility for all new homes to the M4(2) accessible and adaptable standards which was announced in July 2022.

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will require the Planning Inspectorate to reject any local plans which do not include a policy statement and target for wheelchair accessible new homes which are built to M4(3) standards to ensure that there are more wheelchair accessible homes nationally.

Baroness Penn: The Government has set out its intention to mandate higher accessibility standards for all new homes by raising the minimum standard in Building Regulations in England in due course. Councils can only adopt a plan that is sound; it should be consistent with national policy, be supported by evidence and take the views of local people into account. Each plan is subject to a public examination in front of an independent Inspector who plays an important role in examining plans impartially to ensure that they are legally compliant and sound. Higher accessibility standards for all new homes (pdf, 283.8KB)

Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government whether theLeasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, as currently drafted, willbind the Crown, and if not, why.

Baroness Penn: The Government is implementing the Law Commission’s recommendations in relation to the Crown.The recommendation sets out that the Crown should remain exempt from statutory enfranchisement rights, provided it gives an undertaking to act by analogy with the new enfranchisement regime, except in certain special circumstances.The effect will be that most leaseholders of the Crown will have the same opportunity to exercise enfranchisement rights as any other leaseholder.

Department for Business and Trade

Business: Recruitment

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government, following recent reports that starting salaries in Britain have risen at their slowest pace in nearly three years, what steps they are takingto support businesses in maintaining competitive compensation to attract new employees.

Lord Offord of Garvel: Starting salaries are contractual arrangements between employers and their staff. Workers must be paid at least the National Living Wage / National Minimum Wage for the hours they work. On 1 April 2024, the government will increase the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 years and over by 9.8% to £11.44 an hour. The government recently announced a significant package of support for UK businesses, including business rates support worth £4.3 billion over the next 5 years, targeting support at those who need it most.